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Video – Leon Edwards, Kamaru Usman share intense face off ahead of UFC 286 title rubber match

UFC 286 has become as highly anticipated as it can be following a very intense face off between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman. In just two days, Leon “Rocky” Edwards is set for his first title defence on home soil against his familiar foe Kamaru Usman at the O2 Arena. This evening in London, the […]

UFC 286 has become as highly anticipated as it can be following a very intense face off between Leon Edwards and Kamaru Usman.

In just two days, Leon “Rocky” Edwards is set for his first title defence on home soil against his familiar foe Kamaru Usman at the O2 Arena.

This evening in London, the two faced off for the first time since their rematch in Salt Lake City, during the UFC 286 press conference.

Tempered flared as the two welterweights did not hesitate in going at each other verbally, with Leon Edwards receiving a huge buzz from his English fan base.

Their last meeting in the octagon was just seven months ago when Leon Edwards saved his night from slipping into the judges grasp with a last minute head kick KO which set the MMA world ablaze.

Prior to their rematch, Usman was on an incredible 19 fight win-streak, undefeated in the UFC, with a win over Leon Edwards back in 2015.

The Nigerian born fighter was battling for pound-for-pound greatness as he kept shattering records, until just the second loss of the 35-year-old’s career.

Although some fans and fighters may believe he needed a longer layoff to recover from the knockout, Usman believes he is as confident as ever to settle his score with Rocky.

He took accountability for his mistake in the final moments of their rematch, but he also made it clear to Leon Edwards who was in control the majority of the fight.

Edwards, who has been considerably quiet during his UFC career, with struggles of his own which saw him go nearly two years without an opponent, is as fired up and positive as he’s ever appeared.

The Jamaican native suffered a difficult upbringing which sculpted him into the fighter he is today, and he became an instant fan favourite following the jaw dropping head kick and post fight interview with Joe Rogan.

In terms of who may be next in line for the welterweight crown it remains a mystery, and all eyes will be on London this Saturday for what’s set to be a hair-raising spectacle.

Will Leon Edwards retain his championship at UFC 286?

Justin Gaethje touts himself as the most exciting fighter in UFC history: ‘I don’t know why, I can’t turn it off’

Former interim UFC lightweight champion, Justin Gaethje has claimed he is the most exciting fighter to ever grace the Octagon and the entire sport of mixed martial arts as a whole – ahead of his pivotal UFC 286 co-main event return later this week against Rafael Fiziev. Gaethje, the current #3 ranked lightweight contender, is […]

Gaethje, the current #3 ranked lightweight contender, is slated to make his first Octagon walk since May of last year this weekend in London, taking on surging striking ace, Fiziev in a potential title-eliminator at 155lbs.

Last time out, Gaethje, a staple of Trevor Wittman and ONX Labs, suffered a first round rear-naked choke submission loss to former undisputed champion, Charles Oliveira in an unsuccessful bid to land division spoils.

Justin Gaethje touts himself as the most exciting fighter in UFC history

However, attempting to carve a path back to a third undisputed lightweight title outing, Gaethje claims that both he and fans know he is the most exciting fighting force to ever grace the sport.

“I don’t just believe it, you believe it,” Justin Gaethje told assembled media ahead of UFC 286. “You all believe it. You know it to be true. It’s not on purpose. It’s just who I am. That’s how I compete. I’m cut from this cloth.”

“It’s not on purpose,” Justin Gaethje explained. “It’s just who I am. It’s who I’ve been in wrestling. Wrestling can be boring. My wresting matches were never boring. It’s just the way it is. I don’t know why. I can’t turn it off.”

Credited for all-out wars with the likes of Michael Johnson, Eddie Alvarez, and Dustin Poirier during his tenure with the Dana White-led organization, Gaethje, who won interim gold against Tony Ferguson in 2020, claimed he did not remember many of his thrilling Octagon outings.

“It’s moving so far, I definitely cannot remember a thought,” Justin Gaethje explained. “Your ability to retain information in there is non-existent. It’s moving so fast, and if you take time to retain information, your peripherals, your intuition just goes out the windoer for one or two seconds, and we’re fighting less than one or two seconds, less than inches, so there’s no time for any of that.”

Kamaru Usman issues reminder to Leon Edwards ahead of UFC 286: ‘I’m someone who took his soul twice’

Kamaru Usman believes people began tuning into his fights just to see him lose. ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is coming off of his first loss in nearly a decade, surrendering his UFC welterweight title to Leon Edwards after ‘Rocky’ landed the ‘kick heard ’round the world‘ in their UFC 278 headliner. On Saturday night, Kamaru Usman […]

Kamaru Usman believes people began tuning into his fights just to see him lose.

‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ is coming off of his first loss in nearly a decade, surrendering his UFC welterweight title to Leon Edwards after ‘Rocky’ landed the ‘kick heard ’round the world‘ in their UFC 278 headliner. On Saturday night, Kamaru Usman will get the opportunity to reclaim UFC gold as he once again squares off with Edwards in a highly anticipated trilogy bout at UFC 286. Ahead of their main event showdown at the O2 Arena in London, Usman spoke with former NFL standouts Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder, and Fred Taylor on The Pivot Podcast.

Discussing his devastating loss to Edwards in their penultimate matchup, Kamaru Usman suggested that his dominance inside the Octagon turned fans against him, leading many viewers to watch only with the hopes of seeing him lose.

“When you’re successful, it’s almost like everyone is sitting back waiting for you to lose,” Usman said. “That’s what I think the knock on Floyd Mayweather was. He was so successful and perfect at his craft that people bought his fights just to watch him lose. … Once it happened to me, it was the kick heard ’round the world.

“The kick was the only weapon he used that worked. It was just a good kick. It was something that I knew that I didn’t do a good job, or I didn’t do as well as I should have to stop it. But it was just a beautiful kick. Hat’s off to him” (transcription by MMA Junkie).

Kamaru Usman Wants to Break Leon Edwards’ Spirit and His Soul

Up until Leon Edwards’ hail mary head kick KO, ‘The Nigerian Nightmare’ was dominating their world title fight. Knowing that and carrying the confidence of defeating ‘Rocky’ in their 2015 clash, Kamaru Usman recognizes that he will need to make some minor adjustments, but for the most part, it’ll be just another day at the office on Saturday.

“There are minor adjustments I have to make,” Usman said. “But whenever you go into a fight, there’s a lot more going on than what the public can see. There’s a lot that I have to battle through just to make it to the fight. But that’s why I think I’ve been successful – because if I don’t put myself through the fire, then I don’t feel as confident knowing that I can deal with anything being thrown at me once it’s time for real.

“I’ve never been in this position, but I know that mentally, nothing has changed for me. This is the same guy that I beat up before. He’s still going to be the same guy. I have to remind him who he is right away. … When I fight guys, I fight their heart because I want to break their heart. I want to break their spirit and break their soul.”

Leon Edwards has been understandably riding high since his highlight reel-worthy knockout, but Usman has every intention of reminding him what happened during the first 24 minutes of their UFC 278 contest, not to mention his 2015 victory.

“It’s going to be a little bit more difficult this time,” Usman said. “In his head, he forgot about the four rounds before the kick. He forgot that I was taking his soul, so I have to remind him that I’m someone who took his soul twice.”

Islam Makhachev confirms he will make UFC welterweight move: ‘I want to fight for another belt’

Undisputed UFC lightweight champion, Islam Makhachev has confirmed that he will make a move to the promotion’s welterweight division in the future – touting his aspirations to land a second Octagon crown. Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion, headlined UFC 284 most recently back in February of this year against featherweight titleholder, Alexander Volkanovski – […]

Makhachev, the current undisputed lightweight champion, headlined UFC 284 most recently back in February of this year against featherweight titleholder, Alexander Volkanovski – defending his championship in a close, unanimous decision victory over the Australian.

First minting himself as undisputed gold holder back in October of last year in Abu Dhabi, UAE atop a UFC 280 pay-per-view card – Makahchev snapped the division-best streak of Charles Oliveira in a vacant title fight, stopping the Brazilian with an arm-triangle choke.

Islam Makhachev confirms he will make welterweight division leap

Weighing up potential future title defenses against the likes of Beneil Dariush, and even former two-weight UFC champion, Conor McGregor – in what Makhachev has branded a lucrative fight, the Makhackala native has stressed his interest in fighting at the welterweight limit to add to his trophy cabinet.

“100 percent,” Islam Makhachev said of a potential welterweight move during an appearance on WEIGHING IN. “One day I want to fight for another belt. I know, I’m not gonna be like, you know, so [much] smaller – maybe a little bit – I’m big too. I know I can take a second belt.”

“This is my dream, you know,” Islam Makhachev said. “Two belts, two shoulders.”

In the midst of a 12-fight winning run which includes his title win and subseqeunt defense against Oliveira, and Volkanovski, respectively – Makhachev has landed victories over the likes of Bobby Green, Dan Hooker, Thiago Moises, Drew Dober, and surging Armenian contender, Arman Tsarukyan.

At the time of publication, Leon Edwards currently holds the undisputed welterweight title, however, the Birmingham native puts his belt on the line this weekend at UFC 286 against former champion and Makhachev’s Dominance MMA stablemate, Kamaru Usman.

Kamaru Usman seeks redemption against Leon Edwards at UFC 286: ‘It’s a matter of remembering who I am’

Kamaru Usman is on a mission to re-capture the UFC welterweight title at UFC 286. The former champion will face Leon Edwards in a trilogy fight on March 18. Last August, Usman was a round away from retaining his title. Edwards threw a last-minute head kick to claim UFC gold for the first time. It […]

Kamaru Usman is on a mission to re-capture the UFC welterweight title at UFC 286.

The former champion will face Leon Edwards in a trilogy fight on March 18. Last August, Usman was a round away from retaining his title. Edwards threw a last-minute head kick to claim UFC gold for the first time. It was Usman’s first loss in 16 UFC fights.

Now, “The Nigerian Nightmare” is determined to prove himself against Edwards at the O2 Arena in London, England.

Kamaru Usman Became Candid About His Approach at UFC 286

He shared his mindset heading into his return to action during an episode of “Anatomy of a Fighter”.

“For me, it’s imperative that I continue to be honest with myself… I can’t lie to myself and trick it, because once [we] get [in the octagon] your heart truly knows. I try to be as honest with myself as possible. There is a process, you know, when you get hit with a certain technique you have to make sure that doesn’t happen again. It’s a matter of me still remembering who I am, going in there and being mindful of what has happened. But ultimately, reminding him who he is. Who he’s less than.” (Transcribed by Sportskeeda)

Before his 2022 loss against Edwards, Usman was on a tear in the welterweight division. He defended the throne against Jorge Masvidal, Colby Covington and Gilbert Burns. He will aim to recapture UFC gold on March 18.

Tabatha Ricci reveals creepy DM request following UFC 285 submission win: ‘Step on my face’

In the weird and often wonderful world of mixed martial arts – surging strawweight fighter, Tabatha Ricci has revealed some rather questionable and creepy direct message requests from a follower of hers on Twitter – in which a user offers to pay her money to step on their face. Ricci, who most recently at UFC […]

Ricci, who most recently at UFC 285 last weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada – turned in her most high-profile victory to date – defeating former Invicta FC atomweight champion and one-time UFC strawweight title challenger, Jessica Penne with a second round armbar win.

The victory came as Brazilian contender, Tabatha Ricci’s third consecutively, following a prior pair of wins over Maria Oliveira, and compatriot, Polyana Viana. In her Octagon debut, the current #15 ranked strawweight contender suffered a TKO loss to the surging, Manon Fiorot in her flyweight division debut on ‘Fight Island’ in 2021.

Tabatha Ricci reveals bizarre direct message requests

Sharing a screenshot of a list of direct messages she had received in the aftermath of her UFC 285 submission win over Penne, Ricci was offered money for both pictures of her in shoes or her feet, as well a request for her to step on the users face.

“I am willing to do whatever you say in order for you to send me pictures of your feet or shoes miss,” The user wrote. “Please. Do you have CashApp? Step on my face.”

8-1 as a professional, the Brazilian had landed an impressive run of five consecutive triumphs ahead of her flyweight division bow against top-contender, Fiorot – which included three wins and two stoppages under the banner of regional North American promotion, LFA.